American Academy of Pediatrics accused of pushing teens toward ‘nuclear option’ puberty blockers, surgeries

The American Academy of Pediatrics is being accused of promoting over the counter puberty blockers on transgender youth and ditching a non-drug therapy approach. 

Critics of the organization told Daily Mail this week that the organization is standing in the way of efforts to review its policy on how “gender affirming care” should be handled for transgender teens as the group holds a leadership conference in Chicago starting on Thursday. 

Multiple clinicians who spoke to the British outlet alleged that the AAP is purposely driving children toward drug cocktails and eventually surgery rather than less drastic methods of treatment. 

‘”There are other ways to treat gender dysphoria, and AAP seems to be ignoring these other approaches,” Stella O’Malley, a psychotherapist and member of Genspect, told the outlet.

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O’Malley added her belief that children are often “fast-tracked” into the “nuclear option” of drugs and surgeries. 

Dr. Erica Anderson, a transgender clinical psychologist who has helped hundreds teenagers transition, believes in a “qualified” version of gender care but believes the AAP is not keeping up with the times as children are inundated with online messaging telling them that they are transgender if they are having body issues. 

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“This is persuasive to impressionable, insecure young people who are searching for answers,” Anderson said. 

In March, five pediatricians put forward a resolution that called for a “rigorous” review of the AAP’s 2018 gender affirmation policy and warned that a growing number of individuals who go through gender transitions express remorse afterward.

A recent procedural rule means that the resolution will not be voted on at the upcoming AAP meetings, according to Daily Mail. 

Mental health nurse Aaron Kimberly medically transitioned in 2006 and she agrees that the AAP needs a policy review on the issue.

“The responsibility of our clinical governing bodies isn’t to participate in a culture or political war,” Kimberly told DailyMail.com. “It needs to provide us with evidence-based information and evidence-based clinical practices.”

The AAP has insisted that its guidelines are evidence based and offer the best chance for young people to avoid suicide down the road.

The American Academy of Pediatrics did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The overwhelming majority of Americans say a person’s gender cannot be changed, up from years past, signaling a possible shift in attitudes toward transgender rights, according to a new poll.

A new survey released by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday revealed that 60% of adults believe a person’s gender is determined by their sex assigned at birth. That number is up 4 percentage points from the previous year – 56% in 2021 – and up 6 percentage points from 54% in 2017.

Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report